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Can I transfer operating system to new computer

artpayne

Posted 15 June 2009 - 12:22 AM

artpayne

Member

Member

21 posts

Hi,

I currently run a Dell system, which is a bit old, on Windows XP sp3. I am in the process of buying a new computer and would like use my existing system disk, the one which came with the Dell. I have been told this is not possible. Is this so?

Any help/advice greatly appreciated.

Regards

Art

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rshaffer61

Posted 15 June 2009 - 06:15 AM

rshaffer61

Moderator

Moderator

34,114 posts

This is true. The recovery cd that came with your existing Dell system is made specifically for that model Dell. It contains all drivers and programming for that system. It will not work on any other Dell system. If definitely will not work for any other brand name system. If you are custom building a system it would be better to buy you a new copy of your OS system. I myself would go with Vista 64 bit version. This will allow you to utilize more then 3.5 gigs of memory if you play games or use graphic intense programs. also with the release of Windows 7 sometime this year or beginning of next year everything is moving away from the 32 bit OS systems.

rshaffer61

Posted 15 June 2009 - 07:01 AM

rshaffer61

Moderator

Moderator

34,114 posts

Thank you Hawklord and as always you have supplied a great option for the OP.I forgot about Linux even though I have played with it a little recently. I agree it is a great and free alternative for artpayne to consider.

diabillic

Posted 15 June 2009 - 08:42 AM

diabillic

Member 1K

Member

1,370 posts

If you are in the market for a new PC, I would wait until June 26th to do so. If you buy a Vista loaded PC after that day, Microsoft will entitle you to a free or reduced cost price for Windows 7 when it retails in October of this year.

E Earhart

Posted 15 June 2009 - 11:23 AM

E Earhart

New Member

Member

1 posts

I have a similar problem. I have a computer with WinXP Pro installed. I needed to restore files from a backup on another computer, so I restored the computer, and everything was working fine for about a week.

Now all of a sudden I have all kinds of Windows problems! One error after another. I keep getting the blue screen, tried a Safe Mode boot, with NO drivers running, and it just kept having fatal errors. I hate to repair, because we've ugraded from SP1 to SP3. But I did the repair, and the repair wouldn't complete the install because the files needed were not on the CD (duh) - because we had UPDATED Windows since then (the original XP cd is SP1). GRRR.. This is a critical computer for our office admin.

Is there an easier way? I DID try the system restore first, and it worked for about 1 minute after logging in, then the system rebooted itself and wouldnt work after that.

hawklord

Posted 15 June 2009 - 11:31 AM

hawklord

Member

Member

400 posts

.........Now all of a sudden I have all kinds of Windows problems! One error after another. I keep getting the blue screen, tried a Safe Mode boot, with NO drivers running, and it just kept having fatal errors. I hate to repair, because we've ugraded from SP1 to SP3. But I did the repair, and the repair wouldn't complete the install because the files needed were not on the CD (duh) - because we had UPDATED Windows since then (the original XP cd is SP1). GRRR.. This is a critical computer for our office admin..........

if this a 'works' pc, then please note this in the Terms of Use

We offer free computer help and tech support for home and personal use. We are not here to support others that work for profit, or to support/replace your company's IT department.

rshaffer61

Posted 15 June 2009 - 12:18 PM

rshaffer61

Moderator

Moderator

34,114 posts

Direct to: E. Earhart

Please start your own topic Although your issue may seem similar there can be other factors that may need to be resolved. By bumping on someone's topic it makes it confusing for the tech to understand who they are helping. This can in turn cause the wrong support to be given and can cause instability or worse to happen to your system. Thank you for your cooperation.